Tech entrepreneurs in and around KC, join us for happy hour!
Venture Fridays is a simple but fun concept: The startup culture of Kansas City and surrounding areas is invited to gather at our private office lounge to discuss what we’re all thinking about, working on, needing help with, and might do for each other. Existing or aspiring entrepreneurs of all types and ages are invited. Let’s raise our glasses to building the entrepreneurial culture beyond ourselves.

Doors are open on Rainbow Boulevard (Westwood, Kan.) 4 to 6 p.m. on the 2nd Friday of every month. Who are your hosts? We’re a web marketing metacompany, still whiffing the baby powder of our start in 2009. We work hard, and we play hard. Sometimes Venture Fridays will be co-located with other events, sometimes not. Either way, we’ll be here drinking and thinking. Will you? Drop in.

No soliciting or mooching please (entrepreneurial mojo required; read more in Discussions).

Mystery Ball hits the App Store on Thursday, Nov. 3, and Red Nova Labs is celebrating the only way we know how – with a big ol’ bash. The Mystery Ball Launch Party is on Friday night, Nov. 4.
Mystery Ball is the first release from Red Nova Labs Games and it was the work of one man. Lawrence-based developer David Howe created the art, designed and programmed the game. Mystery Ball is an iOS universal game with HD graphics and retina support that can be played on iPhone 3GS+, iPod Touch 3+ and iPad 1+.

The mission of the game is to help a ball named FRED conquer his fears, as part of the Professor’s Grand Experiment. FRED is afraid of just about everything, most notably heights, time and being touched. FRED travels through dozens of physics-enabled, fully 3D worlds, navigating around the game’s frenemies and picking up badges along the way to unlock his fears. He is aided by Doodads like a magnet, a bubble machine, a phase shifter and many more.

Howe will demonstrate the game and talk about the 6 month process that went into designing and developing Mystery Ball. You can also learn more here: http://www.mysteryballgame.com/

Launch party attendees will be treated to a special Mystery Brew, uniquely prepared to commemorate the event by local nanobrewer Wilderness Brewing Company. We will also have a keg of root beer for the non-alcohol drinkers and kids. The Professor is expected to make an appearance, and attendees will be able to play the game on iPads set up around the Discovery Lounge.

If you’d like to attend, RSVP here http://www.mysteryballgame.com/rsvp

Venture Fridays members welcome! Mystery Ball has been demonstrated by David Howe twice at Venture Fridays (first during the conceptual phase and again a month before submission to Apple).

Good programming practices can significantly make a good developer. Good developers are needed in today's industry and they're still rare relative to the demand. Good programmers can be effective as 5-10 average programmers.

In this meetup we will focus more on writing good code.

We will be writing code together on a white board. You might need to write code separately or take notes, so bring papers and a pencil and/or your laptop.

We've got some space set aside for us. During the event (time to be
determined) I'll share some slides on the size and scope of OWASP from a national perspective and then open the conversation up to the questions and informational needs of attendees.

Explaining what an Agile process entails can sometimes be difficult, especially to people that are not familiar with any software development practices. What is one to do in such as situation? Play a game of course! This month's meeting will focus on a game based simulation to show some of the aspects what a scrum approach looks like in non-technical terms. Since Martin Olson is leading it, you can be sure that there won't be any technical abilities required. All you have to know how to do is roll a die and count.

We'll set up the game and run through a couple of iterations and collect our metrics. After we've gotten a feel for the process and various components and characteristics, we'll discuss our observations and answer any questions the group might have about the game, an agile approach at large or Martin's apparent lack of technical skills.

This will be a good session to bring those that are not familiar with Agile but have an interest. It is doubtful that we'd be able to cover all the facets of an agile approach in one evening, but hopefully we can provide some foundations and common ground that your organization
and work from. Since we're meeting at Centriq, you should plan on
eating before you arrive. (Five Guys and some other eateries are
located across the street). This is tentatively the last meeting for
2011 since late November and December are typically filled with holiday obligations. If you feel strongly and would like to try to meet again before the end of the year, please attend and make your voice heard.

Martin Olson is a principal at Silicon Prairie Solutions and has worked as an Agile Coach, Scrum Master and General Cat Herder since 2003.

Windows/Freeware SIG - Tuesday Oct 18th 6:30 pm New Horizons
This month let us get back to basics. Are there hidden tricks in Windows that make its use more productive and simplify the method or reduce the steps needed to get to the desired result? How can I troubleshoot my problem(s)? How can I help my family/friends with their problem either in person or remotely? Are there methods other than Windows/Microsoft Update to keep my equipment up to date? Is it advisable to purchase extended warranties? Whose warranty should I purchase, store/manufacturer? Are there interesting utilities included in Windows that I can use? How is the best way to protect my PC for minimal or no cost? This list can go on and on and everyone has an opinion. Come share yours with the group and we can all become smarter or at least better informed.

As usual there will be a question and answer session for general or specific questions.

Where: New Horizons Computer Learning Center
Metcalf South Shopping Center
96th& Metcalf, Overland Park, KS
(Please enter the door of Metcalf South on the lower level of the
shopping center on the West - You will find New Horizons inside the
center area.) Room 6

· Are you looking to understand what cloud (public, private, hybrid) is and what it can do for you?

· Have recent industry announcements made you want to take a look at alternative ways to take your datacenter to the next generation?

· Do you want to learn about the next set of Microsoft Virtualization technologies?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then come spend an exciting day with your Microsoft TechNet IT Pro evangelists. You will take a technical look at how the Microsoft Virtualization technologies can provide you the Cloud on Your Terms?

Microsoft virtualization technologies provide you a solid foundation for delivering IT as a Service to take your business to the private cloud. Our Private Cloud solution is not just about virtualization. We offer strong management capabilities, using which you can holistically manage all of your services and applications, which is where you’re true business value lies, not in VMs or physical servers. Using our solution, you can get deep application insights and therefore deliver business SLAs with confidence. Microsoft offers virtualization that spans from desktop to data center to the cloud. We offer a comprehensive and customer-centric solution with more choice, flexibility, and cost savings than VMware.

In the morning session we will take a look at the Microsoft virtualization technologies including Hyper-V, SCVMM 2012, SCOM 2012 and all the products to take your DC to the next level. Hyper-V offers best-in-class performance for Microsoft workloads (SharePoint, SQL Server, and Exchange) and you can rely on Hyper-V to virtualize Tier-1 data center applications with confidence. System Center 2012 provides a common management offering full visibility and control for your IT pros across your hybrid environments. At the same time, we continue to empower your application owners with self-service to make sure they can deliver agile app experiences to their businesses. System Center 2012 technologies, you can take advantage of existing datacenter investments with 3rd party integration and provides your infrastructure cross platform management and automation from the metal up. We know that you have made existing investments in your datacenter, and we can integrate and extend upon existing systems.

In the afternoon session you will be allowed to explore the technologies on your terms:

· Do you want to install some of the technologies and take it for a test drive like?

o Windows Server 2008 R2

o Configure Hyper-V for best Practices

o Configure a test environment (networking , a DC VM, a VM for SCVMM)

o Download, install, and fire up SCVMM 2012

· Are you looking to take a Microsoft Certification exam? Exams we can talk about:

If you missed Grunauer’s Oktoberfest last weekend, join us for happy hour later in the month. And if you went to Oktoberfest, you should join us as well. Speakers and attendees of the Social Media Masters conference will be there, along with Kristie Wells and Chris Heuer from SMC national. We’ll be upstairs in the Vienna Zimmer. A $10 ticket includes admission and a spread of Grunauer’s famous sausages.

Hello All !
Our next meeting will be held:
6:30 PM, Wed, October 26, 2011
Centriq Training Center
8700 State Line Rd, Leawood, KS
(West side of State Line Rd, directly across from Ward Parkway Mall)
Sponsor: RiverPoint
Food and door prizes will be provided by : RiverPoint
In order to ensure that we have enough food for you, please click *REPLY* to this email, and let Ray Harris know if you will be attending. Thanks very much !

This month's topic will be:

Show Off Your Portfolio (speakers: Those who volunteer)
-- We will have multiple presentations by multiple presenters (between 5 to 15 minutes long each)
-- If you would like to present your website/portfolio, please contact [Ray Harris at: kcwebpro1@kcwebpros.com] or [John Krysztow at: johnk@cjk-consulting.com] -- with a brief synopsis of your topic
-- Please volunteer early and quickly
-- Present your! website or project that you have worked on that you are really proud of
-- Websites / Projects can have been developed in: Open Source / Perl / TCL / Java / PHP / ASP.NET / Ruby-Rails / Flash / CMS / etc.
-- Demonstrate what you built, what technologies you used, and what you learned
-- This gives you a chance to show off your work and knowledge
-- First come first served -- we will pick between 3 to 5 presenters out of all the volunteers
-- Get presentation experience in a non threatening environment -- which you can place in your resume
-- We might pick a winner of what was most interesting or most helpful to attendees -- and award a prize
________________________________________
Our website URL is: http://www.kcwebpros.com
See You There !!!

Venture Fridays is a simple but fun concept: The startup culture of Kansas City and surrounding areas is invited to gather at our private office lounge to discuss what we’re all thinking about, working on, needing help with, and might do for each other. Existing or aspiring entrepreneurs of all types and ages are invited. Let’s raise our glasses to building the entrepreneurial culture beyond ourselves.
Doors are open on Rainbow Boulevard (Westwood, Kan.) 4 to 6 p.m. on the 2nd Friday of every month. Who are your hosts? We’re a web marketing metacompany, still whiffing the baby powder of our start in 2009. We work hard, and we play hard. Sometimes Venture Fridays will be co-located with other events, sometimes not. Either way, we’ll be here drinking and thinking. Will you? Drop in.

No soliciting or mooching please (entrepreneurial mojo required; read more in Discussions).

Want to present your idea, get feedback, or find testers? Have an idea for an awesome entrepreneurial jam? We invite startup stimulation. Contact Carrie at Red Nova Labs.

Entrepreneurs are driven by a need to create something new or build something tangible under conditions of extreme uncertainty. They’re spontaneously creative, able and willing to make decisions from the gut, and generally risk-takers. Entrepreneurship is also largely about helping others achieve the goals they care about. Is that you? Are you a driven outsider, possessed of a unique genius, ready to take outrageous risks and work incomprehensible hours to beat the odds? Well then, we like you already. Welcome to the group!http://www.meetup.com/VentureFridays/events/29845471/?a=me1.2p_grp&rv=me1.2p

Next Thursday Oct. 13th at HNTB’s downtown office, Stephen Goldblatt from Bazillion Will be showing some of their current work with an emphasis on the work being done with Quixotic. Stephen will especially talk about the piece recently created for the Kauffman center.

Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets - primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people - to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.